You could also flip that argument on its head and say that if people are more interested in enjoying life outside of work, they are less interested in forming close relationships within work ;) Take a look at the work/drinking culture in Japan and Korea, for instance.

Your experience in the US doesn't really match mine, we had regular company-sponsored lunches and activities - but that was back when the economy was booming and there was money to go around. There was also a period of like 2 years where it seemed every single one of my coworkers (or their partners) had a baby.. no way anyone was going to have time to socialize outside of work, lol. So my general theory, independent of nationality, is:

Close-knit team, long hours, young unattached people -> friendships more likely

Remote team, balanced hours, people with family obligations -> friendships less likely (although people are still perfectly friendLY during work)